Bettas are aggressive and territorial, which makes it hard to find their tankmates. However, there are some fish species with whom your betta fish will live peacefully.
Fishes that are less colorful, peaceful, and smaller or similar to your betta size can be compatible mates for your bettas. Tetras are very popular fish species and meet all the requirements to be a betta tankmate, but can they really live with a betta fish? Can betta fish live with tetras? Let us find out.
Betta can live with tetra species like neon, cardinal, rummy nose, black neon, and diamond tetras. However, you have to take precautions like creating hiding spots, adding a large number of tetras, and big size tank to ensure their happy and comfortable living.
This article will discuss the precautions to take when housing betta fish and tetras together, and also, we will know what tetras can go with betta fish. So, let us get into it.
Contents
- 1 Can I keep betta fish and tetras together in the same tank?
- 2 What tetras can I consider housing with my betta fish?
- 3 What tetras should I avoid keeping with my betta fish?
- 4 Things to take care of when housing betta fish and tetra fish together?
- 5 How to introduce tetras to my betta fish tank?
- 6 What to do if my tetras are nipping betta fish?
- 7 What to do if my betta fish is chasing tetras?
- 8 Conclusion:
Can I keep betta fish and tetras together in the same tank?
Keeping betta fish and tetras together in the same tank is a good idea.
Tetras are known to be good tankmates of your betta fish.
Adding the right tetra species to your betta fish tank will make them both live happily together.
Hundreds of tetra species are there in the aqua world, and knowing if betta fish can live with tetras would not be enough as you have to find out which tetra species will be compatible with your bettas.
Tetras are also bad fin nippers and can create issues when not adding the right tetra species in the right way.
Bettas are also known to be aggressive fish and can harm tetras in some cases.
So, we have to ensure that we add tetras that can live comfortably with your bettas.
Let us discuss what tetras we can consider housing with our betta fish.
Also read: Can Betta Fish Live With Goldfish?
What tetras can I consider housing with my betta fish?
All these are the tetra species that you can consider adding to your betta fish tank:
- Neon tetras
- Cardinal tetras
- Ember tetras
- Rummy nose tetras
- Diamond tetras
- Black neon tetras
Neon tetras
- Scientific Name: Parcheirodon innesi
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 1.5 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 10 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 68-82 °F
- Water pH level: 5-7.5
- Swimming level: Middle
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Neon tetras are the most popular tetra species and also a good tankmate for your betta fish.
You will love to see them moving back and forth in a group.
When keeping them with betta fish, consider keeping them in a large group of at least 8-12.
Keeping neon tetras in a large group will make them confident and prevent stress as they will be in good school size.
Cardinal tetras
- Scientific Name: Paracheirodon axelrodi
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 1.25 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 20 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 73-80 °F
- Water pH level: 5-6
- Swimming level: Middle
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Cardinal tetras are similar to neon tetras. However, their red stripe and bigger size make them look different than neon tetras.
Provide them with a large school size of at least 6-8, and they will thrive with your betta fish.
Ember tetras
- Scientific Name: Hyphessobrycon amandae
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 0.8 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 10 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 73-84 °F
- Water pH level: 6-7
- Swimming level: Middle
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Ember tetras are also good tankmates for your betta fish.
These small creatures will not interact much with your bettas, so there will not be an issue.
Ember tetras are middle swimmers and swim most of the time in the middle of the tank, whereas bettas are top swimmers.
Also, ember tetras will eat every food you feed to your bettas, so you will not have to worry about feeding them individually.
Keep them in a large school of 10-12 when keeping them with betta fish, and they will live comfortably.
Also, there are smaller in size than other tetras.
Adult ember tetras are a size of 0.8 inches. So, there is a chance that your betta fish may try to eat your ember tetra if they are weak and vulnerable.
Rummy Nose tetras
- Scientific Name: Hemigrammus rhodostomus
- Difficulty Level: Moderate
- Size: 2-2.5 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 20 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 64-82 °F
- Water pH level: 5.5-7
- Swimming level: Middle
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Rummy nose tetras, also known as red nose or forehead tetras, are also good tankmates of your betta fish.
The red patch on their faces gives them the name rummy nose tetras.
They are very peaceful fish and will live peacefully with your betta fish.
Also, rummy nose tetras are among the biggest size tetras and can be as long as 2 inches in size.
They are shoaling fish and will prefer to be in a large group of 6-8.
Consider providing them with a minimum tank size of 20 gallons.
Diamond tetras
- Scientific Name: Moenkhausia pittieri
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 2-2.4 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 15-gallon
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 72-82 °F
- Water pH level: 6-7.5
- Swimming level: Top swimmers
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Diamond tetras are also good tankmates for your betta fish.
These slow swimmers will live peacefully with your bettas.
Also, diamond tetras are mid and bottom swimmers, whereas bettas are top swimmers, so they will interact only a little.
Black neon tetras
- Scientific Name: Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 1-1.5 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 10-20 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 68-82 °F
- Water pH level: 5-7.5
- Swimming level: Upper half of the tank
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Adding black neon tetras to your betta tank is also a good idea.
Bettas are aggressive fish, and other colorful fish trigger aggression in bettas.
Black neon tetras eliminate this issue as they are dark-colored and will not trigger aggression in bettas.
Also, the water parameters requirement of both of them is similar.
You have to provide them with a large school of 8-12 and plenty of room to swim, and they will thrive.
What tetras should I avoid keeping with my betta fish?
All these are the tetras you should avoid keeping with your bettas:
- Serpae tetras
- Bleeding heart tetras
- Black phantom tetras
Serpae tetras
- Scientific Name: Hyphessobrycon eques
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 2 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 20-gallon
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 72-79 °F
- Water pH level: 5-7.8
- Swimming level: Mid swimmer
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Sepae tetras come among the fantastic tetra breed and are quite popular in a community tank because of their attractive appearance and easy maintenance.
However, you should avoid housing them with your bettas.
All these reasons stop us from housing Serpae tetras with bettas:
- They are bad fin nippers and will try to chase and nip the fins of your bettas.
- Serpae tetras don’t like fish with long colorful flowing fins and will try to nip at them.
- They are good competitors when it comes to food, which means they will compete for food whenever you add food to your tank, and as a result, your bettas can end up being hungry because of not getting food.
Bleeding heart tetras
- Scientific Name: Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: Upto 2.5 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 20 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 72-80 °F
- Water pH level: 5.5-7
- Swimming level: Middle
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
The only reason behind not keeping bleeding heart tetras with your bettas is their nipping behavior.
Bleeding heart tetras are bad fin nippers and will always try to chase your betta and nip their fins.
Also, these creatures are very speed swimmers, and your betta will not be able to swim around them.
However, if you want to house them together, ensure a heavily planted tank and ample space for both of them to swim and live comfortably.
Black phantom tetras
- Scientific Name: Megalamphodus megalopterus
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 1-1.5 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 10 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 72-82 °F
- Water pH level: 6-7.5
- Swimming level: Middle swimmers
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Black phantom tetras are among the excellent tetra breed that is peaceful and beautiful.
The only issue with them is their habit of engaging in fake fights.
Black phantom tetras enjoy engaging in fake fights.
Now, this is not an issue directly for your betta fish, but your betta fish can be more territorial and aggressive because of black phantom tetras’ behavior.
Things to take care of when housing betta fish and tetra fish together?
All these precautions are necessary to take when housing betta fish and tetra fish together in the same tank:
- Provide both of them with ample space to thrive.
- Add plenty of hiding spots to your betta-tetra tank.
- Ensure their ideal water parameters requirement.
- Add a large group of tetras.
- Consider adding tetras first to the tank.
- Consider adding a female betta fish instead of a male.
Ample space
When keeping betta fish and tetras together in the same tank, you have to ensure that both creatures have ample space to live and swim comfortably.
Especially the tetras, tetras require ample space to swim. They will show nipping behavior if not provided with much space.
We recommend providing your tetras with a minimum 20-gallon tank size to ensure their ideal tank size requirement.
Add hiding spots
Creating plenty of hiding spots for your betta fish and tetras is necessary.
They both will require hiding spots to hide whenever they feel sick or vulnerable.
Every fish need a hiding place where it can relax and rest.
Also, they will feel more secure knowing that they have plenty of hiding spots.
You can consider adding aquarium decors like caves and terra cotta pots to create hiding spots for your fish.
Adding plenty of live aquatic plants will also help you create good hiding spots as well as mimic their natural habitat.
Ensure ideal water parameters.
Water parameters play an important role in keeping the fish stress-free and healthy.
If your fish is not living in their ideal water parameters, it will come under stress and become prone to various diseases and parasites.
Also, your betta fish and tetras can get aggressive when under stress.
So, to ensure their stress-free and happy living, set the water temperature adequately to fulfill both their requirements.
Also read: What Is A Good Water Temperature For Betta Fish?
Add a large group of tetras.
Tetras are schooling fish and require a large group of their own to live comfortably.
Also, when keeping them with betta fish, you have to keep them in a large group as it will prevent them from stress and make them more confident.
Consider keeping 8-12 tetras together to form a good size school.
Add tetras first to the tank.
Consider adding tetras first to the tank because bettas are territorial, and when living on themselves in a tank, they will consider the whole tank their territory.
Betta will not like other fish to enter its territory, and this way, it will be challenging to house tetras in a betta tank.
So, consider adding tetras first, and then you can add betta.
Add female betta fish instead of male.
Female bettas are also aggressive and territorial but lesser than male ones.
The more the betta will be less aggressive, the more there will be a chance of betta and tetra getting along.
This is why you should consider adding female betta fish instead of a male.
How to introduce tetras to my betta fish tank?
Usually, we recommend adding tetras first to the tank as betta fish will not like other fish in their tank.
Bettas are territorial, and they will take that whole tank as their territory when they live alone in a tank.
However, if you are adding tetras to your betta’s tank, then make sure of all these things:
- Add a large group of tetras (At least 8-12).
- Add plenty of hiding spots in the tank for your betta fish.
- Ensure adequate and stable water parameters to prevent stress on both of them.
What to do if my tetras are nipping betta fish?
Tetras are known to be fin nippers, and your tetras may be trying to nip your betta fish fins.
Tetras will chase and nip your betta fish fins if they don’t get a large enough space to swim and when they are not in good school size.
So, first, ensure that you have a good school size of 10-12 and enough space so that they can swim and live comfortably.
We recommend providing your neon tetras with a minimum tank size of 20 gallons.
You can also consider adding plenty of live aquatic plants and hiding spots to your betta-tetra tank to prevent interactions and provide your bettas with more hiding spots.
If nothing works, and they keep fighting, the only option you are left with is separating them and placing them in different tanks.
What to do if my betta fish is chasing tetras?
Now, it is also possible that your betta fish is the one who is creating issues in the tank.
You must know that bettas also like to live on their own and sometimes do not like the presence of other fish in their tank.
So, your betta fish may keep chasing the tetras and fighting with them.
If you have newly added both in the tank, then chasing can happen until your betta fish completely explore the tank and find its hiding places.
However, if the chasing is happening continuously, then you are only left with two options:
- Add a divider in the middle of the tank.
- Separate both of them and keep them in a different tank.
- If you want to go with something other than the above two options, then get one of the fish back to the pet shop or gift it to someone.
Conclusion:
Betta fish can live with tetras, but you have to take some precautions before housing them together.
Tetras species like neon tetras, cardinal tetras, ember tetras, diamond tetras, and rummy nose and black neon tetras are compatible with betta fish.
Ensure enough space, create plenty of hiding spots, add tetras first, and consider adding female betta fish.
Avoid adding black phantom, Serpae, and bleeding heart tetras to your betta tank.
Consider separating them if they are not living peacefully with each other because of any reason.